


its window lights are warming cool resolve

by borealisboys



Category: Jurassic World Trilogy (Movies)
Genre: F/M, and a lot of house description, complete fluff, ima big softie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-06-10 14:09:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15293220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/borealisboys/pseuds/borealisboys
Summary: karen reflects on her sisters home and what she's witnessed inside it.





	its window lights are warming cool resolve

**Author's Note:**

> i didn't proofread this oops.  
> title is from a poem called almost home by sandra fowler.

karen knew that claire's little family was going to last. 

every time she went to visit them, it'd be something new to invigorate her admiration for the trio, something that made her heart beat a mile a minute because claire had always had her sights set on a consistent job in high corporations, which was a temporary feat but then she'd become a domestic mother of one with a doting hunk of a boyfriend. 

karen wasn't going to lie; she was incredibly jealous of them. that wasn't to say that she didn't adore her boys and appreciate her time with scott when it lasted because of course she did but somehow, she had never been on that level of family life in comparison to them. a contributing factor was their cabin, built by their own hands, a comforting and cosy abode that was sometimes too cold in the winter months and much too hot in the sticky summer heat. it had its downfalls, everything did, yet the feeling of stepping into the snug home was always a euphoric feeling with the fireplace giving the cabin a warm, lived-in air, both professional and unprofessional pictures of them up on the walls and a go-to supply of blankets. when it was hot, they always had a seemingly endless stock of icy cold drinks, cotton sheets for the night and enough outdoor summer essentials to provide for an entire city. the house wasn't a necessity for their domesticity but it increased it tenfold. 

when karen had visited them the first time it had been a rainy, cold evening and she had taken the boys with her. the firm at which she worked had managed to become bankrupt and had to fire her so she didn't take it entirely personally but it impacted her dramatically as that was the only way she was sustaining her and the boys now. not knowing where else to take herself she opted for a surprise visit to her sister's home. 

claire had opened the door with flour on her flannel shirt and some on the bridge of her nose. the sight was comical but karen didn't feel like laughing at the time – crying was on the cards instead. the moment she had seen them, damp with rain on the doorstep, they were pulled inside instantly and enveloped in the snug atmosphere that comforted them. 

"what happened?" claire had asked, concerned with her hands on her sister's arms. maisie was up on the countertop with a bowl of something, stirring it carefully but she paused her action to stare at the three who she didn't recognise. owen disappeared but returned promptly with three towels after seeing their rain-trodden state and he guided the boys away from their mom to warm up by the fireplace. they obeyed, trusting owen even though they hadn't seen him in a while because he had that sort of fatherly, reliable nature. 

karen told claire her situation and she had been nothing but supportive and empathetic for her, spending the next few hours finding ways to comfort her but really their company was enough to ground her. she noticed that maisie was a shy kid that tended to keep to herself, occasionally giggling at her parent's antics but generally staying quiet and she wasn't quite sure if that was because they were there but she didn't think to ask. envy bubbled up sporadically when claire would sift her floury fingers through maisie's hair comfortingly or when she would incorporate her in as much of the baking process as possible. karen always wanted a daughter, again, not to disregard her sons that she would do anything for, but most females want a little girl to pass their wisdom and love to. owen, too, was a sweet and cherished man who entertained her boys and doted on his girls. he was handsome and charming and it was very clear why claire had fallen for a man like him. 

sat under blankets with a consistent supply of hot cocoa and an entire collection of calming rom-coms on the tv, the smell of cupcakes and chocolate and the feeling of warm, it was easy for karen to forget about her problems and relax. she distinguished a few points of the house from time to time that made it clearly lived-in like the neptune sticker on the corner of the tv, the small framed picture of owen and claire with the widest smiles on one set of drawers, the little chips on some of the mugs, the fact that claire was one hundred percent wearing one of owen's flannel shirts. she missed being a whole family like before, clearly so much to the point where tears descended from her waterline and cascaded warmly down her cheeks. owen was quick to react, offering her numerous tissues and a warm cupcake and karen had taken both with a soft exhalation. 

"i'm sorry," karen had murmured, glancing down at the cupcake which wasn't bad looking at all, the swirl of chocolate icing on top intact and beautiful. 

"don't worry about it, we cry a lot here," he responded and karen laughed, dabbing under her eyes. 

"no, we don't, owen, stop it," claire intervened from the kitchen and owen raised an incredulous eyebrow, looking fondly in claire's direction. the cupcakes were finished soon after, all of them placed on a robin themed plate and put on the dining table before she and maisie came to join the four of them, claire sliding between owen and karen and their daughter clambering onto owen's lap. the six of them debated on which movie they should watch for a while but ended up at a superhero movie much to gray and maisie's delight. 

the ambience of the cabin was very clearly good for karen, and her boys too and as the evening drew into the night, the rain not subsiding in the slightest she felt an urge of belonging. they only managed half the movie before gray was asleep on his brother on the other couch, zach not far from slumber either. claire seemed to understand. 

"you can take maisie's room tonight if you want, the boys can have the spare room," she murmured quietly and karen hesitated, not really wanting to intrude but the heaviness of her eyelids suggested otherwise to driving back home so she nodded carefully. her sister was up quickly then, finding pyjamas for them and turning the tv off, burning the fire out and cleaning up the cupcake plate. owen watched drowsily, itching to help but maisie was swaddled in a blanket and curled up in his lap like an infant and he didn't want to disturb her. 

zach and gray were both dozing the second they met the pillow of the spare bed, comforted under heavy blankets and the company of eachother. karen noticed how delicately coloured maisie's room was and briefly wondered if owen and claire had let her choose the colour of the walls and the covers on her bed. there were toys and books everywhere but she had already suspected that they spoiled their first child rotten. it was easy to fall asleep in their home and her job problem only churned briefly through her thoughts as she was falling asleep but it was quickly enveloped by affection. 

when she briefly went to the bathroom during the night, she couldn't help but poke her head into owen and claire's room, heart jumping to her throat at the sight of them cuddling around maisie's body, the girl sandwiched warmly between her parents and the blanket pulled up to chin, she knew that she couldn't imagine any of them without eachother.


End file.
